Italian exec pleads guilty in Calif. to conspiracy

An Italian citizen who ran a California valve company has pleaded guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to bribe foreign government officials and businessmen.

The U.S. attorney's office says in a statement that Control Components Inc. Vice President Flavio Ricotti of Bientina, Italy, pleaded guilty Friday to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Travel Act.

He admitted conspiring to make corrupt payments in order to win favor with business and government officials in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The 49-year-old Ricotti was arrested in Germany last year and extradited to California.

His company, based in Rancho Santa Margarita, manufactured service control valves for energy industries.

Ricotti faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced March 12 in federal court in Los Angeles.